Residency and citizenship

Spain has a specific program to attract entrepreneurs and qualified personnel, which expedites the granting of residence and work permits to foreigners from outside the EU.

The Residency Program for Investors and Entrepreneurs (PRIE Program) is aimed primarily at three types of profiles:

• Investors: foreigners making a significant investment in Spain:
  • real estate assets (€500,000);
  • shares or participations of companies, investment funds or bank deposits (€1,000,000),
  • public debt (€2,000,000) and
  • business projects considered to be of general interest in Spain.

• Entrepreneurs: foreigners who are going to carry out an innovative entrepreneurial activity of special economic interest for Spain.

How to apply

The processing of these permits is fast – 10 days for visas and 20 days for residence permits – and authorizes holders and their family members to reside and work throughout Spain, in addition to granting freedom of movement within the Schengen countries.

However, the processing offices vary depending on the applicant:

• Investors and entrepreneurs
  • Before arriving in Spain, you must apply for a visa at the Spanish diplomatic mission or consular office of the country of residence. The visa will be valid for one year.
  • Once in Spain and during the year of validity of the visa (or up to 90 days after its expiration), a residence permit must be applied for at the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit (UGE-CE). This permit lasts up to two years.
  • The investor’s authorization is renewable for up to five years without the need to reside in Spain.

• Highly qualified personnel, intra-company transfers and researchers
  • It is the legal entity that wishes to hire the foreign personnel who must submit the application for residence authorization to the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit (UGE-CE).
  • Authorizations are renewable as long as the conditions that generated the right are maintained.